AC Milan vs Inter LIVE: Result and reaction from Champions League semi-final as Inter take control of tie

On a night of thrilling sensory overload, it is Internazionale left with the feeling that matters most: victory, and in the match that matters most. That it was 2-0 at the San Siro, from the most thrilling of starts, went some way to finishing this Champions League semi-final when it had barely begun, putting Simone Inzaghi’s fine cup team on the brink of the grandest final in club football. It still could have been much worse for AC Milan, who badly missed their best player in Rafael Leao. It meant they had no answer - either at the back or front - to Inter’s individual stars. Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan plundered lightning bolts of early goals.

One of a few remaining hopes for Milan is that Leao’s return can spark a comeback that had some embers in that second half. There was also the almost irrational manner that Inter started the game, as much borne of the emotion of everything that was happening as any imposed idea.

The same can happen in the second leg, especially since Milan were the “home” side here. Stefano Pioli at least has to ensure they believe that. That’s what much of this came down to, as the entire occasion ratcheted up to something that went beyond a sporting spectacle.

Simone Inzaghi insisted Inter Milan still have work to do to reach the Champions League final despite an impressive 2-0 first-leg victory over AC Milan in the last four.

Inter blitzed their city rivals with two goals in the first 11 minutes through Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and could easily have put the tie to bed during a dominant first-half display.

Milan improved after the break but will be grateful to still be in reach of the 2010 champions after a disappointing performance in front of their supporters in the ‘home’ leg of the tie.

The cameras panned to the technical director in the San Siro stands. There were plenty of reasons to pick out Paolo Maldini, and his job title is not the most prominent. Not for the man who remains the byword for elegantly effortless defending, not when his name is synonymous with the European Cup. Arguably the greatest left-back of all time was scarcely witnessing a defensive masterclass. Even if he had, the primacy of Mauro Tassotti, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Maldini himself would have remained unchallenged: they are perhaps football’s greatest back four and certainly AC Milan’s.

Comparisons were rarely going to flatter Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer and Theo Hernandez. A shambolic showing made them more glaring. Admittedly, Maldini knows such defining European games can take on a life of their own. He captained AC Milan during Deportivo la Coruna’s four-goal comeback in 2004 and Liverpool’s blitz of three goals in seven minutes in the 2005 final. Inter’s burst of two in four minutes might have brought unpleasant flashbacks. But Maldini won five European Cup finals and Milan conceded a solitary goal in them.

And, 11 minutes into their first semi-final for 16 years, they were two down, and to two of the elderly. Maldini could be a poster boy for veterans: a Champions League winner for the last time a few weeks before his 39^th birthday, he remains the oldest scorer in a final, at 36.

AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori to BT Sport: “Obviously disappointed. Just the way we started the game, conceding two early goals like that. The first one from a corner and then straight after. It’s difficult when it’s 0-0 but to go two goals down in the first 15 minutes is a kick in the teeth.

“It took us a while to get back in the game. There was a bit of anxiety in the team. In a game like this you can’t do that.

“It’s only the first game. We can’t let our heads drop. We know if we play with the right intensity... if we had got the last pass or last shot just a bit more... [with] determination or anger, then we could have scored.

“We’re disapointed but we can’t dwell on it. We have to move onto the next game.”

Inter have beaten AC Milan in three different competitions (Champions League, Serie A, Italian Super Cup) in the same season for the first time in their history.

This is the first time AC Milan have ever lost an all-Italian Champions League tie.

They had won three and drawn four of the previous seven (against Inter, Juventus and Napoli).

Inter Milan goalscorer Edin Dzeko to BT Sport: “It feels very good, especially because it’s a derby. We played away on paper. It’s a great result for us.

“Sometimes you get in this difficult moment where the ball doesn’t want to go in. Patience and work always pays off. I was calm knowing the goals would come as always. Today is the proof.

“I don’t think so [that they’ll get carried away] because we’re an experienced team. We know what we’ve done today. We have got a great result but nothing is yet finished. In the Champions League only great teams arrive in the semi-finals so we have to be careful and concentrate like today.”

On their approach to the second leg: “Not to think about the first leg. They play only on paper an away game but it’s also a home game for them with our fans. We have to be careful. They’re stll a good team.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been named the Player of the Match.

UEFA’s Technical Observer Panel said of the midfielder’s performance: “He not only scored, but was also relentless in midfield. He rotated superbly with Hakan Calhanoglu when defending and pressing. His passing was incredibly accurate and his reading of the game was excellent.”

The second leg is in six days’ time and will also be played at the San Siro. If Inter win, draw or lose by one goal, they will face Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final on 10th June.